Things That Are True
by YuniX-2
Summary: He'd sort of already known what was coming, truth be told, when he questioned Helga on the roof of FTi. But then again, he hadn't really known at all. Some puzzles are too preposterous to solve on ones own.


A/N: So I decided to write my version of what Arnold was thinking on the roof of FTi. It's a bit different than the other versions I've read so far, because it actually starts out discussing Arnold's thoughts on Helga before the FTi incident, but hopefully it will inspire people to think about it in a new manner. The one thing I do worry about is that the whole thing just sort of came out of me as a stream of consciousness, so it might be a little redundant. I ended up using the words "he" and "she" a lot. Anyways, that's all that I really have to say about this piece. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold. Duh.

Things That Are True

He'd sort of already known what was coming, truth be told.

Ever since his grandfather had suggested it, the thought that Helga might _like_ him like him had been hard to avoid. At first he had laughed the idea off – Helga hated him of course, the notion of her liking him was absolutely ridiculous. But the thought had lingered in his head.

He started to notice things. Little things that he had always brushed aside and ignored, but that suddenly made so much more sense if his grandpa had been right. Sometimes, at lunch, he would look up from his tray and catch her staring at him from across the room. She'd glare at him angrily, as though to say, "What are _you_ looking at Football Head?", but for just a moment before her face turned to a scowl he would catch a glimpse of a smile to saccharine to be normal. Sometimes he would turn around in class to pass back some papers, and when he turned to face front again he'd hear a gentle, floaty sigh drifting forward from the desk behind him. The one where Helga sat. That wasn't all, there were bigger things too. Strange moments where Helga behaved out of character, in kindness towards or defense of him, only to snap back to her bullying manner at a moment's notice. Sometimes, if they were the only people around, she wouldn't even bother to return to her cruel demeanor. Like time she had warned him about Summer, and they had competed in a sand castle contest afterwards. Actually, that was the day that he had finally felt confident enough to consider his grandpa being right. Maybe Helga had really liked him all along. What girl kissed a boy that long when she _didn't_ have a crush?

It was shortly after that that he'd started to grow tired of her behavior again. What was worse was that now he thought he knew why she did it. It wasn't just this unsolvable, inexplicable problem in his life anymore, it was a problem that he understood but still could do nothing about. There was a part of Arnold that had always supposed that once he made sense of Helga's behavior he'd know how to fix it. The fact that he had a reasonable explanation for everything she did yet still knew of no way to stop it... well, that frustrated him.

It wasn't as if Arnold could just walk up to Helga and ask her for the truth. First of all, even if she did like him she'd deny it. He knew she would. And second, how embarrassing would it be if he was actually wrong? He _thought_ she liked him, but how could one ever be truly certain without hearing it from the source? Even if he did somehow, miraculously convince her to tell the truth, then what? What would he say? Would he'd give her a chance?

The day Scheck was going to tear down the neighborhood... Well, that was the day that he'd finally had it. At first, it hadn't even been Helga that he'd had it with, it was just everything. The fact that his neighborhood was going to be destroyed in an hour, that he'd tried so hard to save it, that he'd had his goal within his reach and had it ripped away at the last second, the fact that now he might never see his friends again, everything. And when Deep Voice had called him, giving him the answer that he didn't think had existed – he'd been so elated.

Yet something still felt wrong at the back of his mind. Who was Deep Voice, and how did he know where Arnold was at that exact moment? When he saw deep voice through the window of the door leading outside he just couldn't help himself. He needed to know who this man was. It was kind of creepy, having someone following you around like that.

So there he was, outside and demanding answers.

He hadn't expected Deep Voice to be none other than Helga G. Pataki. Even if the girl did like him, she was going to get rich off of Scheck's deal! Who would pass up an opportunity like that? Certainly not someone as selfish as Helga. But then again, Helga wasn't always a selfish person. Not when it came to him, she wasn't.

She was always doing this. Always hiding behind her angry-face, keeping her true self disguised. Now she was literally sneaking around just so that no one would know that she had been helping him. She'd warn a trench coat and used a voice box for heaven's sake!

Arnold was tired, and angry, and it seemed that his heart had been pulled up and down on a yo-yo string all day long. Well he was done with the lies and deceit. Why couldn't she just come out and tell him the truth like a normal person? Was that so much to ask? She played these stupid games like her life depended on them – as though losing the facade would make her less of a human! He was sick of it! No more! The games had to end right here, right now. Helga G. Pataki was finally going to tell him the truth even if it killed her. If Helga did have a crush on him then he would cross that road when he came to it, but this endless game of cat and mouse had to stop. The charade was over.

And it was. Arnold pressured her and at last, Helga finally broke.

"What else are you supposed to do when someone you LOVE is in trouble?" she yelled.

Love? He didn't even know he'd spoken aloud until Helga shouted back.

"You heard me pal, I love you! _Love_ you! Who else do you think has been stalking you night and day, building shrines to you in a closet, filling volumes full of books with poems about you? I loved you ever since I first laid eyes on your stupid football head, and from that moment, every moment since I've lived and breathed for you, dreamed of the moment I could finally tell you my secret feelings, could grab you and kiss you and–"

Arnold's brain cut her off there. There were too many words all at once and they were jumbling together. He couldn't see straight, couldn't think straight. He'd opened up a Pandora's box of Helga's emotions and could only stand in the way, dumbstruck and paralyzed as they all rushed to escape in a whirlwinded frenzy of words.

Then before he could even move out of the way she'd grabbed his face and _kissed_ him! _What_ was going on?

"I'm confused," he asked when he could finally speak, "did you just say you _loved_ me?"

I mean hey, maybe the whole thing was just one big joke. Maybe Helga would laugh at him and say, "Ha! I can't believe you actually fellfor it_ Football Head_. What a loser!" But she didn't.

It was only when Gerald paged him on the walkie-talkie that Arnold realized how much time he was wasting. This was too much for him. He'd thought she'd liked him, maybe even had a little crush. But _love? _That wasn't something he could handle. One thing at a time. He had to go save the neighborhood. He'd deal with Helga's feelings later.

It's funny how when later came, the only thing he could think to do was let her off the hook. Arnold didn't even know what love was yet, how could he even begin to respond to her feelings? She'd snatched up the opportunity like a bandit, too.

Why he was ruminating on it so much, he didn't really know. What he could see clearly was that when she had walked off into the sunset on that day two weeks ago, a funny feeling had been born in the pit of his stomach. Whenever he thought about her now it would appear. It wasn't a case of the butterflies – he knew that much. It was kind of peaceful and warm, like a giant hug. It wasn't like a crush, but it felt like _something_ important.

The only thing he knew?

It was growing.


End file.
